The Hoofi-Cure

Trixie peeked inside the front window and knocked gently on the door of the Carousel Boutique. There would be no bursting into rooms and demanding things this time. No—Trixie had to appear humble and penitent. With the razzle-dazzle of her glowing hoof gone, Trixie had to fall back on her old plan of action.

“Anypony there?” Trixie bit her lip and raised her eyebrows hopefully. “Helloooooo?”

The door swung open, revealing a haggard-looking Rarity. She’d definitely been working all night. Behind her, Trixie could see that the beautiful ball gown had been repaired successfully. That meant Rarity was finished and would have time to sew her cloak!

“Rarity!” Trixie brightened. “You’re looking marvelous today!”

“If you’ve come to ask about the cloak again”—Rarity shook her mane—“I’m terribly sorry, but—”

“No, no, no!” Trixie lied. She looked at the floor and slumped her shoulders for an extra dramatic effect (shoulder slumps always sealed the deal). “I’m here to apologize for being such a klutz! As a peace offering, I thought that the two of us might enjoy a nice day at the La Ti Da Spa together.” She smiled innocently.

Rarity looked back over her shoulder at the finished dress. She did feel quite exhausted. And keeping Trixie away from the dress was probably a good idea… just in case.

“I suppose it would be nice to unwind for just a bit.”

Lotus Blossom, a blue spa pony with a pink mane, greeted them at the front desk. “Welcome, Miss Trixie!” she said with a smile. “I have everything you requested all ready to go. Right this way, mares.” The fragrance of lavender and cucumber hit their muzzles as they trotted behind Lotus. The pony gestured to two cushy chairs piled with fluffy white towels and robes.

As Rarity settled into her familiar spot, she eyed Trixie. She couldn’t help but feel that there was more to Trixie’s motives. The pony didn’t have a great track record when it came to scheming, but Rarity pushed aside the thought. Everypony deserved another chance.

“So, Trixie,” Rarity said, leaning back into her chair. A spa pony named Aloe twisted her mane up into a towel and placed some cucumber slices over her eyelids. She searched her mind for a casual topic of conversation. “What… what have you been up to since you helped rescue everypony from the changeling takeover?”

“That was so crazy, right?!” a familiar high-pitched voice added. A jubilant pink pony bounced over. Pinkie Pie’s fuchsia mane was tied up in a towel, but little frizzy pieces of it tried to escape around the edges. She was munching happily on cucumber slices. “What have you been up to? Or down to? Or all around to?!”

“Just traveling around Equestria on my tour,” Trixie said with an uninterested shrug. This conversation was boring her. She wanted to get to the good stuff—the part where Rarity would agree to make her cloak again. None of this chitter-chatter.

“Oh! I know which one!” Pinkie Pie kept her wide smile. “‘The Humble and Penitent Trixie’s Great Equestrian Apology Tour’?”

“That was a working title.” Trixie sighed in exhaustion and held out her hoof to the spa pony who was preparing to give her a massage and hooficure.

“Oooh! What’s it called now?!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed between chomps of cucumber slices. “‘The Relaxed and Unperturbed Trixie’s La Ti Da Spa Tour’?” Pinkie jumped on her left hooves. “Or ‘The Cucumber-Eyed and Bathrobed Trixie’s Magical Hoof Tour’?”

Rarity stifled a giggle.

“Neither!” Trixie shot back. “Now, Pinkie Pie, would you kindly leave us alone so we can get to the relaxing part?”

“Okeydokey-lokey!” Pinkie Pie laughed and began to bounce back toward the steam room.

“Wait—what did she say about my hoof?” Trixie lurched forward and the cucumbers slid off her eyes.

Without missing a beat, Pinkie yelled from down the hallway, “It looks all sparkly and weird!”

“It does?” Trixie held her hoof up to her muzzle and noticed that it was glittering with a subtle light! How was this possible? Her eyes darted to the bowl of warm water in which Lotus Blossom had soaked Trixie’s hoof. Suddenly, the moment came rushing back to her. She’d been onstage in a curtain of mist when her hoof had become magical in the first place…

“Ha!” Trixie shouted in triumph as she sprang to her wet hooves. It was water. Her eyes looked wild. “My magical hoof is back and I know how to keep it! There’s no stopping me from getting into the Starmane Society of Magicians now!” Trixie tore the towel from her pale-blue mane and tossed it aside. Then she cast a cloud of smoke and disappeared to Luna knew where.

“Rarity!” Starlight Glimmer burst into the room. She was out of breath, having galloped all the way from the Everfree Forest. “Have you seen Trixie?! We have to stop her before she ruins all of Ponyville by accident!”

Rarity put her hoof to her head and sighed. “Can’t a mare have one little, teensy spa hour without some epic drama?”

Starlight looked at her frantically. “Guess not?”

“Fair enough, darling.” Rarity stood up, tossed some bits to Aloe and Lotus Blossom, and nodded at Starlight. “Now let’s go help that crazy pony!”